David Morse

David Bowditch Morse is an American actor. Morse became widely known for his role as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the NBC medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–88), and he has had roles in The Negotiator, The Good Son, Horns, Contact, The Green Mile, Dancer in the Dark, Disturbia, The Hurt Locker, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Rock and 12 Monkeys.

In 2006, Morse had a recurring role as Detective Michael Tritter on the medical drama series House, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. He portrayed George Washington in the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams, which garnered him a second Emmy nomination. He received acclaim for his portrayal of Uncle Peck on the Off-Broadway play How I Learned to Drive, earning a Drama Desk Award and Obie Award. He has had success on Broadway, portraying James "Sharky" Harkin in The Seafarer. From 2010 to 2013, he portrayed Terry Colson, an honest police officer in a corrupt New Orleans police department, on the HBO series Treme. Morse appeared in the WGN America series Outsiders (2016–17), the Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora (2018), the Netflix comedy drama series The Chair (2021), and the Apple TV mystery series The Last Thing He Told Me (2023-2026).

Early life Morse was born October 11, 1953, in Beverly, Massachusetts, the son of Jacquelyn Morse, a teacher, and Charles Morse, a salesman. He was raised in Essex, Massachusetts and Hamilton, Massachusetts. As a teenager, he was confirmed in the Episcopal Church, and he has said that he continues to pray daily into adulthood. His middle name, Bowditch, comes from mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch.

Career Early career in theater After graduating from high school in 1971, Morse was invited by Esquire Jauchem, who had directed him in one of his school plays, to audition for the repertory theater he was helping form in Boston, the Boston Repertory Company. Morse became a member that summer at age 17 and spent six years performing there while living in the Fort Hill section of Roxbury.

In 1975, Jauchem, by then the artistic director of the Boston Repertory Theater, adapted and directed a stage musical version of The Point! that starred Morse as Oblio. The production later toured to the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence. In the late 1970s, Morse moved from Boston to New York to further his stage career with the Circle Repertory Company and to study acting at the William Esper Studio.

Film and television In 1980, Morse made his theatrical film debut in the drama Inside Moves.

Morse's big break came in 1982 when he was cast in the television medical drama St. Elsewhere. He played Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison, a young physician who is forced to deal with the death of his wife and the struggles of being a single parent professional.

Morse appeared in a number of supporting roles following St. Elsewhere. He is quoted as saying, "I made the decision that I didn't care if there was any money in the role or not. I had to find roles that were different from what I had been doing."

In 2002, Morse starred as Mike Olshansky, an ex-Philadelphia police officer turned cab driver, in the television film Hack. For his role in the 2002 crime-drama film Shuang Tong, Morse was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in the Golden Horse Awards, the first ever nomination for an English-speaking actor. He appeared as suspicious neighbor Mr. Turner in the 2007 thriller Disturbia. Film critic and commentator John Podhoretz wrote that Morse is a "largely unsung character actor who enlivens and deepens every movie fortunate enough to have him in the cast."

In 2006, Morse received a phone call from David Shore, who had previously worked with him on the Hack series. Shore asked him if he would be interested in having a guest role on House. When Morse watched the show, he could not understand why people enjoyed it because he believed "this House guy is a total jerk." When he told some of his friends about the offer, however, their excited reactions convinced him to accept the role. Morse portrayed Michael Tritter, a detective with a vendetta against Dr. House. He earned his first Emmy Award nomination for his work on the series.

In 2008, Morse portrayed George Washington in the HBO miniseries John Adams, for which his nose was made bigger with prosthetics. Morse commented, "The first thing that comes to mind is my nose; it was my big idea to do that nose. We didn't have a lot of time, because they asked me to do this about three weeks before they started shooting, and I just kept looking at these portraits and thinking 'this man's face is so commanding.' And I did not feel that my face was very commanding in the way his was. So I convinced them that we should try the nose, and we tried it on, and everybody went, 'Wow, that's Washington.'"

Morse has stated that out of all of the films he has done, his favorites are The Green Mile, The Crossing Guard, and The Indian Runner. He played an ex-CIA agent in the film World War Z (2013). He played the late NFL player Mike Webster in the biographical sports drama Concussion (2015).

Stage In addition to performing in films and on television, Morse has continued to appear on stage. For his performance in the 1997 Off-Broadway production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama How I Learned to Drive, he received an Obie Award, a Drama League Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. That same year, he played Father Barry in the play adaptation of On the Waterfront. From 2007 to 2008, Morse appeared on Broadway in Conor McPherson's play The Seafarer. He received a Tony Award nomination for his role in the 2018 Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh.

Personal life Morse has three younger sisters and had one stepsister. He has been married to actress and author of The Habit, Susan Wheeler Duff Morse since 1982. They have one daughter and twin sons. After losing their home in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Morse and his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Television + List of David Morse television credits Year Title Role Notes 1981 Nurse Kevin Mallory Episode: "Equal Opportunity" 1981 Our Family Business Phil Television film St. Elsewhere Dr. Jack Morrison 137 episodesDirected episodes: "A Coupla White Dummies Sitting Around Talking", "Handoff" 1983 Prototype Michael Television film 1984 Shattered Vows Father Tim Television film 1985 When Dreams Come True Robert Wynton Television film 1987 Place at the Table Tom Williams Television film 1987 KnowZone Host 13 episodes 1987 Six Against the Rock Marvin Hubbard Television film 1987 Downpayment on Murder Det. Jackson Television film 1988 Winnie Thomas Television film 1989 Brotherhood of the Rose Chris / Remus Television film 1989 Cross of Fire Klell Henry Television film 1989 Friday the 13th: The Series Wrote and directed episode: "A Friend to the End" 1989 Midnight Caller Chandler Episode: "Wait Until Midnight" 1991 Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann Bicycle Pete Television film 1992 The Hat Squad Frankie Stein Episode: "Frankie Stein" 1992 Tales from the Crypt Tom McMurdo Episode: "Showdown" 1992 Reasonable Doubts Edward Durrell Episode: "Moment of Doubt" 1992 Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster Rick Steiner Television film 1993 Miracle on Interstate 880 Dr. Jim Betts Television film 1993 Big Wave Dave's Dave Bell 6 episodes 1993 SeaQuest DSV Lenny Sutter Episode: "SeaWest" 1995 Homicide: Life on the Street Jim Bayliss Episode: "Colors" 1995 The Langoliers Captain Brian Engle Television film 1995 Tecumseh: The Last Warrior Galloway Television film 1997 Murder Live! Frank McGrath Television film 2001 American Experience Abraham Lincoln Voice6 episodes 2002–2004 Hack Mike Olshansky 40 episodesWrote episode: "Gone" 2006–2007 House Det. Michael Tritter 6 episodesNominated Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series 2008 John Adams George Washington 4 episodesNominated Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a MovieNominated Monte-Carlo Television Festival for Outstanding Actor in a Mini Series 2009 Medium Douglas Lydecker 3 episodes 2009 Empire State James Cochrane Episode: "Pilot" 2010–2013 Treme NOPD Lt. Terry Colson 31 episodes 2011 Lights Out Jerry "The Rainmaker" Raines Episode: "Rainmaker" 2012 Victory in Defeat Douglas MacArthur Japanese series 2012 Robot Chicken Robin HoodThe Lorax VoiceEpisode: "Butchered in Burbank" 2014 Untitled Wall Street Project Conklin CBS pilot 2015 True Detective Eliot Bezzerides 3 episodes 2016–2017 Outsiders "Big Foster" Farrell VI 26 episodes 2017–2020 Blindspot Hank Crawford 7 episodes 2018 Escape at Dannemora Gene Palmer 6 episodes 2019 The Deuce Matthew Rouse 2 episodes 2019 The Morning Show Mr. Jackson Episode: "No One's Gonna Harm You, Not While I'm Around" 2020 The Good Lord Bird Dutch Henry Sherman Episode: "Meet the Lord" 2021 The Chair Dean Paul Larson 6 episodes 2023 The Last Thing He Told Me Nicholas Bell Miniseries 2025 We Were Liars Harris Sinclair 8 episodes

Selected stage work + List of selected David Morse stage credits Year Title Role Notes 1981 The Trading Post Jim WPA Theatre 1981 Threads Nub / Clyde Circle Theatre The Wild Duck Los Angeles Theatre Center 1992 Redwood Curtain Lyman Bagley Wright Theatre Seattle Repertory TheatreWorld Premiere 1995 On the Waterfront Father Barry Brooks Atkinson Theatre 1997–1998 How I Learned to Drive Uncle Peck Century Center for the Performing ArtsWorld PremiereLucille Lortel Award for Outstanding ActorDrama Desk Award for Outstanding ActorObie Award for Best PerformanceNominated Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor 2007–2008 The Seafarer James "Sharky" Harkin Booth Theatre 2013 The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin Tom Durnin Laura Pels Theatre 2018 The Iceman Cometh Larry Slade Bernard B. Jacobs TheatreNominated – Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play 2022 How I Learned to Drive Uncle Peck Samuel J. Friedman TheatreBroadway Premiere Nominated – Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play

Audiobook performances + List of David Morse audiobook credits Year Title Author Notes 1999 A Patchwork Planet Anne Tyler Abridged Version 2003 Messenger Lois Lowry 2014 Revival Stephen King 2015 The Andromeda Strain Michael Crichton 2016 Skeleton Crew Stephen King Partial Reading 2016 And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer Fredrik Backman English Translation 2018 Flight or Fright Various Partial Reading 2018 Leadership: In Turbulent Times Doris Kearns Goodwin Partial Reading 2020 The Second Life of Tiger Woods Michael Bamberger 2025Theo of GoldenAllen Levi